Dec. 2018 inflation 9.4 per cent

The year-on-year inflation rate ended December 2018 at 9.4 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point from the 9.3 per cent recorded in November 2018, the Ghana Statistical Service said on Wednesday.

Mr David Kombat, the Acting Government Statistician, told a press conference that the monthly change rate for December 2018 was 1.1 per cent compared with 0.7 per cent recorded for November 2018.

The food and non-alcoholic beverage group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 8.7 per cent compared to the 8.5 per cent recorded in November 2018.

Four sub-groups of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group – coffee, tea and cocoa; fruits, meat and meat products; mineral water, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices recorded inflation rates higher than the group’s average rate of 8.7 per cent.

The non-food group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 9.8 per cent in December 2018, up from 9.7 per cent in November.

Five sub-groups of the non-food group, including transport, recreation and culture; clothing and footwear recorded year-on-year inflation rates higher than the group’s average rate of 9.8 per cent.

Inflation was, however, lowest in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels sub-group.

At the regional level, the year-on-year inflation rate ranged from 7.5 per cent in the Upper East Region to 11.4 per cent in the Upper West Region.

Five regions, Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Western, Ashanti and Northern, recorded inflation rates above the national average rate of 9.4 per cent.